NIJC joined more than 160 groups calling on President Biden to uphold past commitments to end mass prosecutions for migration-related offenses that deny individuals their right to a fair hearing and due process. The letter also calls for a halt to all prosecutions for unauthorized entry…
The Biden administration’s January 26 Executive Order to phase out the use of private prison contracts is a vital step in the larger effort to end a perverse financial driver behind mass incarceration. For-profit prisons have little incentive to focus on anything other than ensuring profitability…
On January 26th, 2021, the New Way Forward Act was reintroduced to Congress. The bill looks to transform the U.S. immigration system by moving away from policies that criminalize, incarcerate, and deport immigrants and repealing some of the most harmful provisions of the 1996 immigration laws.…
The U.S. criminal and immigration systems have long been entangled, creating a double punishment for immigrants through a pipeline from almost any involvement in the criminal legal system to immigration detention and deportation. U.S. criminal and immigration laws both disproportionately target…
The Executive Office for Immigration Review has proposed yet another rule that stacks the deck against noncitizens, including asylum seekers, by setting up an unforgiving system where the smallest misstep leads to near-certain deportation and the path to protection is narrowed to a pinprick. …
In a newly proposed rule, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reaches a new level of cruelty. DHS proposes to strip work authorization for 95% of individuals who have final orders of removal but who have been released from immigrant detention on supervision. The people who would be impacted…
On November 19, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would force non-U.S. citizens, including children and lawful permanent residents, to submit face scans whenever they enter or depart the country. The rule change represents a significant expansion of CBP…
At the National Immigrant Justice Center, we recognize the strength and resilience of our communities through the unprecedented struggles of 2020. On International Human Rights Day, we gathered to hear the stories of NIJC clients across the years from immigrants, pro bono attorneys, and NIJC staff…
Samer doesn’t take no for an answer.
He didn’t take no for an answer when he found himself stuck in Venezuela, lured there by his parents who were hoping that a stint in the Venezuelan army might function as a kind of conversion camp. He didn’t take no for an answer when staff at the U.S.…
In a year defined by words like “challenging” and “difficult,” let’s not forget that “victory” and “extraordinary” are a crucial part of 2020’s vocabulary. Faced with unprecedented challenges, legal staff and immigrant rights advocates around the country rose to the occasion to protect human rights…